Britney Spears Reflects on Her ‘Tacky’ Denim Outfits with Justin Timberlake

Britney Spears recalls her iconic denim-on-denim moment with Justin Timberlake.

While she and the former *NSYNC star were dating, the couple famously appeared at the 2001 American Music Awards in identical head-to-toe denim looks. Now, more than 20 years later, Spears, 41, admits the fashion statement was “cheesy”.

She opened up about the unforgettable outfit in her new memoir, The woman in mepublished on Tuesday, saying the decision to double down on denim was partly inspired by her upbringing in the South, where “moms like to get the kids together and say, ‘Listen, we’re going to church today, so we’re all color-coordinated.'”

When she found out Timberlake planned to wear denim to the awards show, she suggested, “We should match! Let’s go denim on denim!”

However, she wasn’t really serious. – At first, honestly, I thought it was a joke – she recalled. “I didn’t think my stylist would do it, and I never thought Justin would do it with me. But they both gave it their all.”

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wore denim to the 2001 American Music Awards.

Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

For Timberlake, stylist Steven Gerstein put together a version of the “Canadian Tuxedo” with a denim jacket, pants, shirt and — to top it all off — a western-inspired hat with a waist detail.

“When he put it on I was like, ‘Wow! I guess we’re really doing this!'” wrote Spears, who wore a strapless floor-length denim dress and a small denim bag to the event.

It was hardly the first time the duo had teamed up for a look. Spears said they enjoyed going out together in color-coordinated outfits when they were a couple from 1999 to 2002. “But with matching denim, we blew it all up,” she said of the over-the-top AMAs.

A look back at Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears’ relationship in photos

She also remembered suffering because of the fashion that night. “The corset pulled me so far under the denim dress that I was about to fall,” she explained.

As he looks back on the outfits now, he realizes why they have been so popular over the years. “I understand it was tacky — but it was also pretty awesome in its own way, and I’m also happy to see it parodied as a Halloween costume,” she wrote.

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Spears acknowledged that Timberlake also endured plenty of criticism for his role in the Y2K denim disaster.

“Heard Justin was upset about the look,” she wrote.

“On one podcast where he was teased about it, he said, ‘You do a lot when you’re young and in love,'” she continued. “And that’s right. We were giddy, and those clothes reflected that.”

Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears in 2002.

Diane L. Cohen/Getty

In 2020, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the AMAs fashion statement, Gerstein explained how Timberlake’s look came to life.

“It was so simple. Justin and Britney were dating at the time. We were in New Orleans when Britney and Justin said, ‘We’re putting denim together.’ And I was like, ‘How do you do that? Who does that?'” recounted Jezebel.

“We ended up taking the Costume National suit that Justin wore for A celebrity album cover. We turned it into denim. The talks with Levi’s were going on at the same time, and Britney was working with him [costume designers] Kurt and Bart. We had some crossover contacts at Levi’s, so it went from idea to reality within days.”

“It was kind of like their graduation,” Gerstein added. “They had an idea, and we did what they wanted, not the other way around. The rest is history.”

Justin Timberlake has no regrets about his iconic matching Britney Spears denim look

Timberlake also shared his thoughts on the look in 2020, on his former *NSYNC bandmate Lance Bass’ podcast, where he claimed the look is classic.

“You can kind of play it up nowadays,” Timberlake told Bass of the denim-on-denim trend, adding, “You do a lot when you’re young and in love.”

In addition to becoming an enduringly popular theme for the couple’s Halloween costumes, Spears and Timberlake’s denim look has also been recreated by numerous celebrities over the years, including Katy Perry. She and Riff Raff walked the red carpet at the 2014 VMAs in double denim, treating fans to a fun fashion keepsake.

At the time, Perry, 38, tweeted that her custom Versace outfit was inspired by her “love of nostalgia and … addiction to Tumblr.”

Spears acknowledged the recreation, chirping Perry at the time, “Just when I thought the denim dress was retired…bring it back!”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education